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That thing looks huge. I dont know if it will remain in place during vigorous rolling scissors without having the bands painfully tight.
I already often bump my oculus into my stick leaning into some small cockpit details (mirage is bad for it, it has tiny labels and knobs) I can’t imagine doing that with this monstrosity.
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Indeed.
You see the user adjusting the position quite often.
I have toyed with the idea of a fighter pilot style helmet, with the HMD mounted as a slide-down visor. Maybe something like that will be required for larger HMD’s.
I had my SimBox a bit too close to a wall once…
I learned that the Oculus can take quite a beating. 
It’s good to see new development in VR.
We want better FoV and resolution. And we want better performance. These are, as of now, mutually exclusive. I hope they figure out the foveated rendering idea and that it can bring the performance up to where we need it to be, while increasing the screens.
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My seated play area is very small. So when I fire up VTOL VR, it is not unusual for me to be punching a wall or desk while I’m reaching for the switches that are further away…
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Which is the greatest hurdle to overcome when dreaming of combining virtual and physical controllers… 
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It is as light as a Rift pretty much apparently. Also, the deluxe headstrap will be very similar to the Vive DAS so that will help it as well. Apparently it is very comfortable. Users adjusting it are just new users getting a feel for it I think. Finding the best position, etc.Remember, all those vids were taken within minutes of them just putting the headsets on for the 1st time. I am a backer and cannot wait to get mine. Wide FoV and the bump in rez/sweetspot size/clarity is gonna be a-freakin-mazing in cockpit. Reports after the Berlin meetup are looking VERY good. Reviews once out on the 16th should provide a lot more detail.
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And I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it 
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I continued to be amazed at how poorly screenshots reflect the VR experience. Last night I was flying the updated Saab 340A in X-Plane and honestly…I was just zoomed way in on the ADI because it looks uh-mazing in VR…I mean…it was another one of those WOW moments where I was just flat out amazed at the technology. Took a screenshot of it…and it looks…blah… Funny how much DIFFERENT it looks in the Rift compared to the 2D presentation. What you can’t see is how the glass is inset into the instrument and it has a curve to it…it really looks awesome in VR…
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VR sometimes gets compared with the introduction of TrackIR in flight sims 10+ years ago. TrackIR was a logical, yet wonderful progression. VR is a revolution. And if, to those who have not yet taken the leap, adherents of VR seem irritatingly religious about it, well, there is a reason. I am a “Born Again” VR flight sim-er! The experience is so beautiful and real that I want to proselytize. But unlike real religions where getting converts is getting ever harder in a modern world, every flight sim enthusiast WILL end up here whether they currently except that as fact or not.
And while I am proselytizing, let me add another shout out to VTOL VR. To sit in the middle of my room, with no HOTAS and no mouse, and to be able to fly smoothly and precisely and manage surprisingly complex weapon systems given the silly look of the game–it’s just groovy baby!
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This, more than anything, has me sold on VR. I’ve been on the fence, but you’re making a good point comparing it to VR, which I was also on the fence on, because it wasn’t a “perfect” tech. It’s now a “can’t imagine simming without it” tech.
As far as cost…
hmmm…
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Yeah - I very much agree with this. And I think you probably hear the most excitement from the pilots probably because we’ve spent so much time in real cockpits that VR really does come as close to what it is like. Yes, there are still barriers to overcome, but 100% of the time when I put the Rift on and boot up X-Plane or DCS or VTOL, I’m blown away by the technology. Mostly I’m always amazed at that feeling of “it was actually always like this…but now I’m seeing it the way it was supposed to be seen” (with regards to most virtual cockpits really are 3D already…you just don’t have the binocular vision to see them that way until you use a VR device). It’s a crazy thing.
Just pushed my articles to the magazine, so I have some free time now and I’m going to dive back in to VTOL VR. Man oh man I wish it had some multi-player so we could take a crack at some of those missions together…
And yes…the complexity of weapons and systems and sensors that that guy is adding to VTOL VR is simply awesome.
You need to slide your phone camera up into the VR hood and take a pic with its camera…remember to turn off the flash first. 
I think you have hit the nail on the head there Chris. I think those of us who are pilots or who have extensive cockpit time, maybe have a different perception of what the important aspects of the experience are. Obviously I can’t talk for all, but every pilot I have let fly using my Rift has been blown away by it.
IMHO, any combat flight simulation should be built on the foundation of simulating flight. I want to experience to the fullest extent what the aircraft feels like to fly. How does it feel to sit in the cockpit? How cramped is it? What is the view like out of the cockpit? What does it FEEL like to fly the airplane? VR gives me that in a way that no 2D multi-monitor 4K setup can. In some ways, it gives a better experience than a Level D sim (circling approaches are a joke in a Level D sim for example). With VR, I simply don’t care that the resolution isn’t quite as sharp as a 4K screen. I don’t care that the FOV is only 110º (everything outside of that is peripheral vision anyway, and therefore should be out of focus). Of course, I will be ecstatic when these aspects are improved upon, but they are small potatoes in the grand scheme of things (IMHO).
We are very lucky that the technology has fit in so well with our existing sims. ED have done a fantastic job of implementing it, even though there was no VR available to the mass market when DCS World was initially produced. Obviously, the implementation will improve as will the hardware. I can’t wait for Gen 2 to hit the streets!
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As totally immersive as VR is, I’ll be happier when they sort out pupil tracking. Either that or crack the code that lets more of the image to be in focus. Last night sitting in the Hornet, a few times I needed to wrench my Jaba the Hut body around and then zoom to access panels that reside under my elbows. I so wish that I could have a little more in focus than what I point my nose at. Would help with BFM as well.
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Mmm…the JustFlight Arrow III is so gorgeous. I mean…I feel like I could instruct in this thing in VR. Maybe a touch too twitchy in rudder response (in my opinion), but that could be dumbed down through sensitivities if you wanted. But in VR, it is superb. The panel textures are so good I feel like I could smell the mixture of plastic and old puke and 100LL residue left in the sump tool…
Sorry about the mouse cursor in the screens…
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I no longer fly commercially or privately, so VR fulfils me flying wise, and I truly appreciate it. I was explaining to Mrs Stricko (who doesn’t care much about our hobby, but I appreciate her understanding/tolerance) that I was flying DCS Harrier with pancake/TrackIR whilst learning.
Once I finished and went back to VR I’m positive I gave a loud sigh of relief, I know I felt it…
Old puke…does that come in a little fragrance tree that you can hang from the rearview mirror?
Even better…it is infused into the carpet…! 
This was a really great review and it certainly gives me some hope for the future. As mentioned, the future does look expensive though by the time you figure in the cost of a new 2080ti and an 8k unit (Although what new technology isn’t for early adopters?)
As an Iracer, I love the fact that he mentions it worked so well with the Pimax and the visuals were so good. As a person who has recently started using DCS quite a bit, I’m disappointed that the outlook didn’t look as rosy as the Iracing stuff.
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The video is long so I didn’t watch (sorry). But I can’t imagine what could have been a less than stellar future for DCS with respect to VR. I probably have 500 hours in DCS with VR and not a single minute of that time left me feeling as if I sacrificed anything for the experience. Well, ok, using the editor and learning a new plane while reading the manual are best done in 2D. Otherwise it’s VR all the way.
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